On April 14th, the NCAA filed a new proposed $75 million settlement deal to resolve the class-action concussion lawsuit filed against it. The lawsuit resulted from the consolidation of several cases after former student athletes sued the organization for downplaying and/or neglecting to inform them of the long-term, life altering risk and consequences of sports-related head injuries.
The revised proposal was submitted to address deficiencies in the prior settlement deal that federal judge John Z. Lee rejected last December. In essence, the core terms of the new deal are: $70 million to create a medical monitoring fund for student athletes that suffered head injuries, and $5 million for research and stricter return to play guidelines for NCAA member schools’ athletic programs. While the athletes themselves won’t be given any money under the deal, they may be permitted to sue the NCAA directly for damages.
Steve Berman, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, expressed his belief that the new deal would satisfy Judge Lee, noting “We took each of the judge’s concerns and responded to them… He said there [are] many things he liked about this in December, and he wouldn’t be putting us through all this work, in my view, if he didn’t want to find a way to approve the settlement.”
However, not everyone was satisfied with the new proposal. Jay Edelson, another plaintiffs’ attorney, called the offer a “smoke-screen settlement” that would not result in “just compensation” for the injured athletes. Edelson commented, “Overall, we think that it’s moving in the right direction, but it’s still problematic… It’s not the type of wholesale improvements that were needed the class is still neglected.”